A number of handheld educational products exist on the market today. One handheld product is called Pixter™, which is produced by Mattel, Inc. This product is similar to a PDA (or personal digital assistant). It has a body with a display screen and a stylus that allows a child to select items displayed on the display screen. A number of different games can be played with the product.
While the Pixter™ product is useful and entertaining, a number of improvements can be made. For example, because the stylus is the only means by which data can be input into the product by a child, the number and types of programs that can be played with the product are limited. Moreover, the users of the product are typically children and it is desirable to facilitate game play and refine fine motor skills. Since only one input mechanism is present, the product's ability to enhance those fine motor skills is limited. It would also be desirable to provide for a handheld gaming apparatus that has different input mechanisms so that a child's interaction with the apparatus is enhanced.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other problems.